Reed adjustment for looms



Sept. 4, 1928.

w. H. WAKEFIELD REED ADJUSTMENT FOR LOOMS Filed Nov. 25, 1927 Patented Sept. 4, 192.8.

[U Nil E D? T E WALTER H..WAKEFIELD, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS; ASSGNOR. T0 CROMPTON.

&'KNOWLES LOOM .WORKS4 OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION MASSACHUSETTS.

REED ADJUSTMENT FOBI LOOIVIS.

Application filed November 1927.

This invention relates to improvements in reed adjusting devices for looms and it is the general object of the invent-ion to render the notches, but such movement as accom plished in the aforesaid patent is inconvenient and it is an important object of my present invention to provide a readily accessible actuator for the flexible strap so located as to simplify the adjustments ot the reed.

It is a more particular obj ect of my invention to construct the backstay with a space between the bracket therefor and the adjacent end oit ,the reedand to place in the .pace a pivoted lever to cooperate with a perforated segment by Vmeans ot which the lever may be held in a plurality of selected positions to give the reed a variety oiver- 'ticalA positions.

lVith these and other objects in view which wiil appear asv the description yproceeds, my invention resides in-thecombination and arrangement ot' partshereinafter described and set 'toi-th inthe claims.

in the accompanying drawings wherein Fig. 3 is a ragmentaryview showing a portion ot' the construction shown in Fig. 1 but with the parts in different position, and

Fig. 4 is a detailed horizontal section on line 4-4 oit' Fig. 2.

eferring to the drawings, the lay 10 is supported by lay swords, one of which is indicated at 11, and has an upwardly extending projection 12 with a boss 13. A bracket 14 has a boss 15 to receive a. pivot pin 16 extending through and secured to the boss 13. The bracket is provided with a vertical slot 17 through which extends a bolt 18 to secure the adjacent end of the hand rail position.

tion. i including-the reed and backstay, is movable Serial No. 235,576.

19 to said bracket. The hand rail is provided with agroove 2O which receives a reed cap 21 tofhold the upper 'end of'reed R in It is to be understood that both ends of thev lay are providedv with the brackets and pivot pins and that the hand rail kmayhave its vertical position with respect to the brackets'altered by 'reason of the slot 17.

--The lower end of the bracket is provided with la foot 22 indicated in dotted lines in Lig. l to which is secu-red a wooden back- 223 having a veitical upwardly opening siot 24 extending ylongitudinally thereof.

vThe-bottom of said slot is provided with a plurality oi'l inclined surfaces 25 toV receive correspondingly formed wedges 26 secured in any approved manner to a flexible strap 27 Movement of the tlexiblestrap 27longitudinally of the backstay raises or lowers the reed bar depending upon the direction in `which the flexible strap is moved." The lower end of said-reed may rest directly on the strap as indicated in 4Figs. 1 and 2 [and the hand rail may be adjusted Vvertically to elampthe reed `tightly in any adjusted posi- "Thestructure cari'ied by thebra'ckets,

about theV -pin 16- as a pivot--against the action of a leaiz spring 2S secured in amanner notshown to the lay sword." The-matter Vthus far described is common construction in the lays and backstays o1 silk looms and may bey as substantially set torth in the aforesaid Holmes patent, and forms no part ot my present invention.

. 1n: carrvii'ig. vmy improvements into effect I provide a lever 40 pivoted on a pin 41 f carried by the backstay and extending acios the slot 24, the `lower end 424 or said lever extending into the slot to be positioned thereby with respect to the axis of the pin 41. As shown in Figs. 1 and 2 the lower end oi' the flexible strap 27 is held to the depending arm of the lever by means of a .screw 45. The lever has an upper horizontally extending portion 44 provided with an opening 45 which may be made to align with any one of a plurality of openings 46 formed in arcuate extension 47 ot the bracket 14. Convenient means as a Cotter pin 48 may be employed to pass through the opening 45 and the opening 46 aligning therewith to hold the lever iny fixed position relatively to 2 I f v'1,exe3,21

the backstay. The extension 47 and the horizontal arm 44 extend rearwardly from the reed to be out of the path of the shuttleA and also to render saidl cotter pin or any equivalent device readily accessible to the operator.

When the reed is new the lever may be in l o ne extreme position, such as to the right las shown in Fig. 1 with the reed in its highest removed and the lever 40 giveny a left hand e angularl movement until the opening 45V position. As .weaving continues, especially in the case of silk` warps,smalldents will be worn in the reed wires and it will therefore be desirable to change the vertical position ofthe reed in order to move tliesedents either above or below the fell of the lcloth. Asfshown herein the cotterpin 48 may be comes under the next opening 46 to the left as viewed in Fig. 1, movement of the lever being facilitated bythe horizontal extension 44 which serves as a handle. This movement is accompanied by a motion to the rightV of the strap 27 and the wedges 25 will there- :fore move downwardly" along the inclined surfaces 25, after which the cotter pin may be replaced. It will be necessary to lower the hand rail and this may be done by loosening bolts 18 and moving the rail downwardly until the'reed cap is in proper position relativelyto the rail with the reed seated on the strap 27. The lever 40 will be located on one have provided a simple and readily acces-v side only of the lay but the' adjustment of the hand rail will have to be made on both ends of the loom.V The adjustment justV described may be `repeated until the lever has -been moved to its extreme left position, at which v.time the reed vmay be reversed andthe lever e moved back one step at a timeto the posi,-V

tion shown in Fig. 1.

l From Vthe foregoing it will be seen that I sible means for varying the verticalposition of the loom reeds, saidmeans including a lay supported lever which may be held in any one of a plurality of adjusted positions by means of a quickly Vdetachable connection with a portion ofthe backstay bracket.

Having thus described my invention it will be seen that `changes vand modificationsmay be made therein by those skilled in thefart e `what I claim is y means to holdsaid lever in anyone of a plurality of angular positions, whereby the eleinent may be retained in different positions relativel to the lay to give the reed a plurality o vertical positions.

2. In aV loom, a lay provided with antinclinedv surface, `a reed, a member Shaving an inclined face in contact with the inclined Vsurface on the lay, and affording support for the reed, a Aflexible element connected `to the lmember and movable relatively to the lay, a bracket mounted on the lay and hav-j ing an arcuate,portion-provided with a plurality of Aaligned openings, a lever pivoted to the bracketand operatively connected to the element, and detachable connections betweenthe lever and thearcuate portion `extending through one of the openings of the arcuate portion and into the' lever to hold the latter in any one of aplurality ofganvular positions to give the reed aplurality of vertical positions.

3. In a loomlay construction, a bracketA pivoted to the lay, a backstay supported by the bracket and having an inclined surface, a reed, the lower end of whichl is supported by the backstay, fa flexible element located under the reed to support the latter and having portions to cooperate With the inclined surface to move said reed vertically when theelement is moved horizontally relatively tothe backstay, a lever pivotedto the bracket and operatively connected to the flexible element, and means to hold said lever in aplurality of angular positions relatively tothe bracket, 4` i l 1 Y In'testimony whereof I have hereunto affixed myV signature. N' i Y WALTER H.\VAKEFIELD. 

